SPECIAL REPORT PHONECARDS

COUNTERING THE
MOBILE THREAT
Despite the widespread adoption of the mobile and the doubling of
callbox charges, phonecards are holding their own. By Ralph Adam
At the end of August, British Telecom manufacturer Nitecrest: "The
announced the doubling of charges phonecard market is going from
from call boxes. According to ~Ialcolm strength to strength, not just here
-ewing, BT Payphones director, the but also in the US, where volume
hike came as result of increasing com- is rising all the timc."
petition, particularly from pre-pay Factors behind this increase in
mobiles, and was intended to safe- volume are largely practical -
guard the pavphone service's futllre. phonecards can eliminate the need
"The mobile phone has completely for eoi ns when abroad, overcome
changed the way people communi- expensive hotel phone rates and
cate away from home or office, and they can even be used as an alterna-
now payphones are used for only six tive to "roaming" charges for mobiles. Phollecards Ji'OIJ7 Coca-Cola, have/store
per cent of those calls," said ~ewing. alld a licellsed Tom alld fen)' from BT
It's obvious - and natllral - that B1' Important marketing tool (above); a GlIililiess utt Olltcard (be/Oill)
perceives the mobile telephone mar- And according to Fred Parker, chief
ket as a threat, yet these misgivings executive of Telecard lJK, BT's new this was based on its rarity and the
are colouring promoters' perceptions charges are more than likely to back- ideaofitbeinga "first".
of the promotional phonecard as an fire and will make phonecards even In general, collectors prefer strong
effective mechanic. better val ue as a promotional tool. images and some themes seem to
The contention centres partly on Certainly they have been an impor- have unlimited interest: anything
fears that the phenomenal take-up of tant marketing tool since the first pro- with a mention of Coca-Cola, for ex-
mobiles over the past few years will motional card, which advertised a ample. Other brands, such as Shell,
make telephone-booth cards an irrele- Paris hotel, appeared in 1978. Since also attract a lot of interest, as do
"ance. And, as mobiles carry an in- then, both the technology and design pictures of planes, trains or birds of
creasing range of functions such as have improved greatly. There is now a prey. \Vell-known licensed characters,
\"oice-mail, internet access and e-eom- wide range of added-value features such as those from Disney films, are
merce capability, they are beginning vvhich can be incorporated into also a major draw - one which BT was
to be perceived as a "must-have", phonecards, and shape and visuals are quick to capitalise on.
spann ing all generations. limited only by the imagination. And their use has become more in-
Yet there is no evidence that the And, unlike many promotional novative. Parker says Telecard l-K has I
days of the phonecard arc numbered; items, a phonecard has a long life - the commissioned an artist to create
on the contrary, a 1999 survey by the number of telephone minutes offered special sets of phonecards with the
telecoms rcgulator, Of tel, into cus- may be small (though too few minutes theme Visions of Africa - one of the
tomer perceptions of compe- may not be a sufficient in- sets is a promotional souvenir for
tition in the international centive), but the card itself SPTl\. Teleeard lJK has also created
calling market, found 6.+ per is often collected and re- several cards that promote more inti-
cent awareness of phone- tained. If the branding is mate forms of communication, such as
cards. While mobile phones right, the card won't be cards for Labatt's Ice Beer whieb has
are seen as sexy, cards have thrown away and it will messages such as "Please phone me, 1
become an everyday essen- continue \vorki ng for may need warming up!" with space
tial. The two can and do co- years after its issue. for the user to write his or her phone
exist, meeting different Within this strong number before handing it over. And a I
needs, and the general con- collector's market, thematic similar card was produced as a give-
sensus is that phonecards pro- images becoming increas- away for the film Crt.Ie/ [lltelltio/ls. I
vide convenience, and a ingly important. A copy of Another company which has man-
perception of value. the aforementioned French aged to merge the promotional, retail
According to John Hart, sales card was recently auctioned and collectors' markets is Excel
manager at phonecard for a four-figure sum, but Impact. The BBC has granted the ~ 70
SPECIAL REPORT PHONECARDS
company its first-ever phonecard In some countries, design- B T's new mrd, works in
licence after signing a multi-year, pan- ers have allowed their payphones (top); cards for
European agreement. The company imagination free rein in Pring/es and Labatt Ice
plans to bring out a series of six collec- creating cards. Lenticular
table cards featuring images from the (moving image) and 3-D
BBC series Vola/kingwith Dinosaurs. designs are now par for
Excel Impact has also created a pro- the course, and cards
motion for Blockbuster and pizza- with more than one ap-
flavoured Pringles - which reinforces plication - key-rings,
the link between snacks and movies. fridge magnets and
necklaces, for example tries to overcome
Interactive voice response - are becoming popu- this problem. It is
Another of Excel Impact's licensed lar. Perfumed, and even a remote-memo-
cards, a Coca-Cola bottle with an IVR edible, cards are current- ry card with the
(interactive voice response) message ly under test. numbers held
which reproduces the sound of a can As well as fancy shapes, __,..., on a chip, so it
~·-";lIIlt"""_ .
or bottle of Coke being opened, won sounds and smells, there _...•.••
~..-IO'!_..,.nG!..... can eIther be
~-- 1\Ifl"'" llI"I'~_",••~ .
this year's Phonecard of the Year are many technical features '::~~.::~_.- used 10 the conven-
award in Miami. such as interactive voice tional way from home or the of-
Once a card has reached the collec- overs, auto-dial facilities fice, or bridge technologies and be
tors' market, it will change hands (which give press-button access to a inserted into a BT payphone.
many times, giving a promotion extra client's customer services or sales Phonecards have become an every-
impact. David Teasdale, Excel Im- number), interactive games, prize day product with huge potential and
pact's chairman says: "The combina- promotions, and other forms of data those who see their value as a promo-
tion of phonecards and licensed capture-led activities. Cards have also tional medium have a highly effective
characters can prove irresistible when been used to activate pre-paid tool for brand-building and recogni-
effectively deployed. But it goes with- mobiles (giving the lie to the theory tion. The last word goes to Nitecrest's
out saying that you have to meet the that mobiles will kill off phonecards) Hart: "Phonecards have an unlimited
client's promotional aims." and to drive users to specific websites. future: I can't see an end to it." 0